Atticus essentially catches Jem in a lie by asking him a series of leading questions in quick succession, which is the oldest lawyer trick on record. Jem is caught off guard and admits to something he denied earlier.
Full Answer
What is the "lawyer's trick" that Atticus uses to get Jem to confess the truth about the game that the children play. Jem says the children were not trying to make fun of Boo, mistakenly admitting to Atticus that they had been playing the game before when Jem had denied it.
How does Atticus get Jem to tell him what their game was all about? He uses an old lawyer trick. He manipulates the conversation so Jem eventually admits to playing the Radley game. Atticus tells Scout and Jem to leave the Radleys alone.
Atticus also tells them to stop playing their stupid game, and Jem says they weren't making fun of Boo, inadvertently revealing to Atticus that they were in fact playing at being the Radleys.
Praise for Atticus Miss Maudie explains her opinions about hardline Baptists by comparing them with Atticus. A religious zealot, she says, is worse than a drunk Atticus. When Scout insists that her father doesn't drink, Miss Maudie says that she was just using Atticus as an example of a noble person.
ArthurIn the classic American novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley (whose first name is actually Arthur) doesn't leave his house or talk to anyone, which leads the children in the novel's setting (Maycomb, Alabama) to wildly speculate about what he looks and acts like.
A Hot Steam is a ghost who cannot get to heaven, so it wanders about lonely roads. Jem says that if you are walking along a road and pass through a hot spot of air, it might be a Hot Steam, "an' if you walk through him, when you die you'll be one too, an' you'll go around at night suckin' people's breath—."
After an argument with Scout, Jem suggests they play a new game called "Boo Radley," which Scout recognizes as Jem's attempt to prove his bravery. Against Scout's better judgement, they enact Boo's life with great gusto until Atticus learns of the game.
The tree beside the Radley Place represents Boo's character and his desire to communicate. The children acknowledge this in their letter to him: Dear Sir ... we appreciate everything which you have put into the tree for us (Chapter 7, p. 68).
What did Jem lose in the process? Answer: The children were frightened on the Radley's back porch by a shadow. When the children ran from the Radley's backyard, they had to scoot under the fence. Jem's pants got stuck going under, so he had to wiggle out of them and leave them tangled in the fence.
What is Atticus's old nickname? One-shot Finch.
Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he'd get him if it took the rest of his life” (290).
A.C. LeeThe character of Atticus Finch is based on A.C. Lee. Photo by Donald Uhrbrock/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. Harper Lee sits with her father, A.C. Lee, on the porch of his home in Monroeville, Alabama. The character of Atticus Finch is based on A.C. Lee.